RTL Group

From Wikicompany

RTL Group is Europe's largest TV, radio and production company.

RTL has 26 television and 24 radio stations in 9 countries, and produces television content such as game shows and soaps, including: Pop Idol, Good Times, Bad Times, The Price Is Right, Family Feud and The Bill.

Television stations

Image:RTL Television.png

• Belgium: RTL TVI, Club RTL, Plug TV
• Croatia: RTL Televizija
• France: M6, RTL 9
• Germany: RTL Television, RTL II, VOX, Super RTL, RTL Shop, n-tv
• Hungary: RTL Klub
• Luxembourg: RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg, Den 2. RTL
• Netherlands: RTL 4, Yorin, RTL 5
• Spain: Antena 3
• UK: Five

The money-losing Polish-language RTL 7 satellite television chanel has been sold in December 2001 to TVN owners ITI and became TVN 7.

History

RTL originally stood for Radio Télévision Luxembourg (or Radio-Télé-Luxembourg).

The RTL Group started in 1931 as CLR or Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Radiodiffusion which operated Radio Luxembourg.

In 1954 it renamed itself into CLT or Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Télédiffusion and started television broadcasts.

In 1997 it merged with Hamburg-based UFA Film- und Fernseh-GmbH (not to be confused with East German UFA) to create CLT-UFA.

In 2000 it merged with Pearson TV and became RTL Group. It is currently majority-owned by Bertelsmann AG.

Among the reasons of RTL Group's success, apart for merits related to the content itself, one can cite the fact that Luxembourg allowed privately owned radio and TV stations long before other European countries did.

Wikipedia article about RTL Group (search). This article uses material from that article.

RTL Group Bertelsmann Media Television network Radio Luxembourg Germany France Belgium Netherlands United Kingdom Spain Hungary Croatia France 1931